My Knees Hurt- An Old Dude Skate Documentary

“You don’t quit skating because you get old – you get old because you quit skating,” Jay Adams once said, and it’s true. Anyone who skates can tell you there is no age barrier at skateparks. Sure, it hurts a little more when you fall, but that’s no reason to stop. For the general public though, skateboarding is still a “kid’s sport” — something you give up at 12, or 18, or 25. Ben Rupp, a 40-plus-year-old skater and snowboarder from Washington is out to disprove that.

Ben and photographer Matt Scholz are in the process of making “My Knees Hurt,” which you can watch the teaser for above. “This project stems from me starting skateboarding again at 41 after spending years away from the sport (I never stopped snowboarding). As I ventured back into the parks I discovered that I wasn’t alone. Every day I met more and more older men and women that have either returned to skateboarding or never left the sport to begin with. I had been looking for a fun and interesting way to put my two decades of TV experience to use so I decided that I would tell their stories,” he explains.

The project is still in the beginning stages, and is definitely a labor of love. Between their day jobs, production is slow going, and the duo is not looking to make a buck. But like skateboarding, the project will hopefully have a greater effect than just another skate video.

“Keep in mind, although the teaser is full of bangers, we aren’t making the traditional skateboard movie, we want this to be about the skaters and not the tricks, why they skate. Basically I want to obliterate the stereo type of skateboarding as ‘Youth Culture,'” Ben said.

If you’re an older (40 plus) skateboarder based in the Northwest who would like to tell Ben your story, he’s looking for more subjects and help as well. You can contact him though his website, www.mykneeshurtthemovie.com.